How to Install Python 3.9 on Amazon Linux 2

Python is a highly popular and versatile programming language, renowned for its simplicity, ease of learning, and wide range of applications, including web development, data analysis, and machine learning. The release of Python 3.9 brings several performance enhancements and new features, making it an attractive choice for developers.

In this tutorial, we will walk you through the process of installing Python 3.9 on Amazon Linux 2 systems using the source archive file. This method of installation provides you with greater flexibility and customization options, ensuring that your system is equipped with the most up-to-date version of Python.

Prerequisites

Installing Python from the source code requires a GCC compiler. So must have installed the required development libraries first.

Open a terminal on your system and install the prerequisites for Python:

sudo yum install gcc openssl-devel bzip2-devel libffi-devel 

• Read: How to Use SSH to Connect Remote Linux Server

Step 1 – Download Python 3.9

Visit Python’s official download page and download the required Python on your system. Alternatively, You can use the following command to download Python 3.9 on a local machine.

cd /opt 
wget https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.9.16/Python-3.9.16.tgz 

After the download is finished, extract the archive file.

sudo tar xzf Python-3.9.16.tgz 

Step 2 – Install Python 3.9

Switch to the extracted directory with the cd command. Then use the ./configure script to prepare the source code. After that, you can compile and install it with the make command. Below set of commands to compile Python 3.9 from the source code and install using the altinstall command.

cd Python-3.9.16 
sudo ./configure --enable-optimizations 
sudo make altinstall 

make altinstall is used to prevent replacing the default python binary file /usr/bin/python.

Now remove the downloaded source archive file from your system

sudo rm -f /opt/Python-3.9.16.tgz 

Step 3 – Check Python Version

The Python 3.9 binary is installed under /usr/local/bin directory. As we have not overwritten the current Python version, you need to run Python 3.9 command as follows:

python3.9 -V 

Python 3.9.16

Step 4 – Create Python Virtual Environment

Python provides to create an isolated environment for the applications. Where you can create an environment directory with a specific Python version. This will contain application-specific packages.

Use the following command to create an environment directory:

python3.9 -m venv env 

The above command will create a directory “env” in the current directory containing all the required files for the isolated environment.

Every time you need to make changes in the environment, Use the below command to activate it.

source env/bin/activate 

After activating the environment, you can work with your application.

Once your work is finished, use the following command to deactivate the Python environment.

deactivate 

Conclusion

Throughout this tutorial, we have shown you the detailed steps to install Python 3.9 on Amazon Linux 2 using the source archive file. This approach allows for a more personalized installation experience, enabling you to take full advantage of Python 3.9’s improved performance and new features. As you continue to work with Python, consider exploring its extensive ecosystem of libraries and frameworks, which can further enhance your programming capabilities and project efficiency. With Python 3.9 now installed on your Amazon Linux 2 system, you are well-prepared to tackle a wide variety of programming tasks and build innovative, high-performance applications.